In the Footsteps of Mary Magdalene: Marseille – Aix-en-Provence – St. Remy-de-Provence

“Today’s trip was under the special guidance of Mary Magdalene and Lazarus, the first bishop of Marseille. Therefore, a visit to the crypt of Saint Victor, a place where Lazarus is being commemorated, was one of our main priorities. As we climbed down the stairs tot he crypt, where the first Christians of the Provence were baptized, we felt deeply connected with Mary Magdalene, her companions and everyone who lost his/her life for their belief. The crypt houses an impressive stone relief of Mary Magdalene and Lazarus, as well as a statue of the Black Madonna, which is being carried through the city during the annual procession. This statue symbolizes the „Mary, who came from the sea and who brought the gospel with her.“ We obviously knew which Mary it referred to. Afterwards, we had to hike up the steep hill to the basilica „Notre Dame de la Gare“, because our bus driver claimed that he couldn’t drive up the hill with the bus due to the narrow streets. The impressive square around the basilica offered a wonderful view of the city and the offshore islands. The interior of the church is decorated in the byzantine style with beautiful gold colored mosaics. On our way back to the bus we were surprised by an intensive thunderstorm and some of us got soaked. However, the storm could not diminish our good mood.

In Aix-en-Provence we got lucky with the weather and visited the Holy Spirit church as the sun was shining. The church windows display Mary and Mary Magdalene surrounded by the apostles. We also went to see the cathedrale Saint Sauveur, which houses a baptismal font from the times of Mary Magdalene’s immediate anchestors. Her companion Maximinus was actually the first bishop of this city.

In St. Remy-de-Provence we settled in a gorgeous hotel for two nights. The hotel’s winter garden was transformed into our meditation room, where we gathered before the delicious dinner. Before we started with the meditation and the live messages of MaryMagdalene, Lazarus, Salome, Mary and the „Angel for Effortlessness and Joy“, the participants discussed their personal experiences of the day. We look forward to tomorrow when we will tour Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.”